Omnibus top



Dec. 20, 1927;

1,653,066 R. T. SENTER OMNIBUS TOP Filed May 17, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 20, 1927.

R. T. SENTER OMNIBUS TOP Dec. 20, 1927.

R. T. SENTER OMNIBUS TOP Filed May 17, 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet s vllllfllllllllflllllllllldIll/l Patented Dec. 20, 1927 RALPH r. sEN'rER, or PHILADELPHIA, 'rnNNsYLvANrA, AssIeNo3 Tommi J. G. BRILL COMPANY, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION or PENNSYL- VANIA.

oMNiBus TOP.

Application filed May 17, 1924. seem N'ol 714,045. I

My invention relatesto certain improvements in a top, or roof, of an omnibus, or other vehicle, particularly the top of an upger deck of an omnibus. V

ne object of the invention 1s to provide an open frame, which is arranged to be closed by a curtain that has rollers wlthln a tubular portion of the frame, said tubular portion being located on each side of a cen tral longitudinal aisle.

A further obj ect of the inventionis to locate the tubular portion of the frame so that it will act as a supporting rail for a person entering or leaving the'omnibus. A still further object of the invention is to arrange the individual curtains so that there will be a curtain above each seat that can be manipulated by a passenger or by the conductor, said curtain forming a protecting roof section. V V In the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 is a plan view of onetype of 0mmbus illustrating my'invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse sectional view, showing one-half of the omnibus;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a portion'of-the top of an omnibus, showing two of the curtains drawn, the other curtain'b'eing'rolled and exposing the seat section;

.Fig. 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional view, illustrating the mechanism in detail I Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 55, Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a sectional View on the line 66, Fig. 4. 1

Referring to' the drawings, 1 is the floor of an upper deck of an omnibus. 2, 2 are the 7 side walls, which enclose the sides ofthe upper deck. sashes 3, which can be raised or lowered, as desired. Curtains may be substituted for the sash in some instances. The seat structures 4 are preferably arranged transversely, as shown in Fig. 1. The seat structure has cushion sections 5 and a back section 6. A

longitudinal central aisle 7, Fig. 1, separates beam to another are tubular longitudinal.

memberslO. These members are held firmly In the sidewalls are sliding in the heads 9 byany suitable means. These tubular members 10 are located on each side of the aisle'7, preferably a slight-distance back from the inner ends of the seats, as

shown in Fig. 2, althoughthey may be 10- cated at different points, depending upon-the type of omnibus to which my improved topi's applied. The postsll rest'upon'the floor 1 in the present instance. The upper ends of these theheads In some cases, it is preferable to provide a-post for each head 9, although the roof maybe supported at interyalsby two or more posts, depending materially upon the length of the omnibus. The beams 8,;which are at. tached to the sidewalls 2 by brackets 13, or other suitable devices, provide alight, yet rigid open structure that will support the roof curtains, and which have sufficient rigidity to act as a support for passengers when entering or leaving'the omnibus. This posts are located in sockets 12 in open roof structure is preferably less in I height than the height of the average person standingin the aisle in order that the omni-j bus may clearany overhead obstructions. The beams are inclinedfslightly towards the side, as shown, so that'therain water will not collect on theroof. f

I In each tubular section lO is a. roller 14, on which a curtain 15 is wound. This curtain passes through an opening 16 in the cylindrical section 10 and .its longitudinal edges are adapted toslide in grooves17,

which are formed by an upper flange 18 on the beam 8 and the sheet metal gutter section 19, which is secured to the lower flange 20 of the beams 8,as shown clearly in Fig. 6, so that any water escaping from the edge of the curtain flows into the gutter and carried to an outlet pipe 21 at the side of the omnibus, as shown clearly in Fig. 4. The roller 14 is an ordinary type of spring roller and has a spring 22, which is shown clearly in Fig. 5.

cap 23, which is secured by screws 24 to the head so that the cap can be detached and the tubular section 10, with-the spring roller,

removed, when it is necessary to repair the curtain or its roller. Each tubular section hasa head 25 at each end in which the spring rollers are mounted. These heads can The head 9is preferably provided With a i be removed when it is necessary to withdraw the curtain and its roller from-the removable section 10.

While one means ofproviding access tow the spring rollers is shown, other means may be provided without departing from the essential features of the invention. Although the tubular section is in the form of a cyl: inder, it may be shaped differently without departing from the spirit of the invention,

which is to provide a curtain roller support on eachside of the aisle. The curtain, whendrawn, forms a protecting roof section.

It will be noticed that the curtain is stiffened at intervals by bars 25, which extend "curtain, therebypermitting it to be rolled within the tubular member 10.

By the construction hereinbefore described, the topof the omnibus is provided with an open frame, which allows a person tov stand erect in front of a seat, it only bei the curtain isdrawn, 1 Whenit 1s desirable, or necessary, to pros ing necessary for a passenger to stoop when passing under the tubular section 10in going from the aisle to a seat or vice versa. The'space above a'seat 1s unobstructed when tect passengers occupying the seats, one or more of the curtains can be drawn over the space above the'seats. The curtains are made in =sections,fpreferably one section for each seatstructure, so that the occupant can draw a curtain over that structure, when desired.

While the curtains are shown spaced so that a curtain will be above each seat structure, they may be of a Width greater or less than the space above the seat structure,

While the posts are illustrated as extending to the floor, they may bevattached to the seat structures without departing, from the essential features of the invention.

Y The invention is especially adapted for the top of an upper deck of an omnibus, but it will be'understood that it can be used as a covering for any typeof omnibus, or other vehicle.

I claim: c

1. The combination in an omnibus, or other vehicle, of sidewalls; a series of transverse seat sections spaced apart .to form a central longitudinal aisle; an open top frame consisting of a'series of transverse beams connected at their outer ends to the side walls and at their aisle ends by tubular sections; spring rollers mounted in the tubular sections; curtains on the rollers arranged to be drawn towardsthesides of the vehicle and to cover the space between two beams; and means for detachably securing said tubular sections to the transverse beams.

'52. The combination in an omnibus, of side walls; two series of transverse seat structures spaced apart to form a longitudinal aisle; a series of transverse overheadrbeams securedto the side walls, each beam having at its inner end a head provided witha detachable cap; longitudinal tubular sections at each side of the central aisle, said sections having their endsmounted in the heads; spring rollers located within the tubular sections; curtains on the rollers, said'tubular sections having longitudinal slots; through which the curtains can be drawn to close a space between two beams; and means for supporting the roof structure at the aisle ends.

RALPH SENTER, 

